SuDooku
by DragonRidingSorceress
Summary: A new craze is sweeping the Galaxy! AUish. OneShot


Title: SuDooku

Summary: A new craze is sweeping the Galaxy! AU. Humour.

A/N: I love Sudoku, personally, but some people just can't get it…

I don't intend for this to fit in with the movie timeline, so I suppose it's AU. Anakin is in his late teens, and is still Obi-Wan's Padawan. He and Padme see each other fairly regularly, but the Clone Wars have not begun, and they are not married. Dooku has left the Order.

* * *

"_Invented by ex-Jedi Master, Count Dooku of Serenno, these tricky little boxes –"_

"_And there's no maths involved!"_

"_- very simple to play. You just fill it out with the numbers from one to nine, making sure not to put the same number more than once in a row, column, or box –"_

"_It's so simple, even I can do it!"_

"_- a test of logic! A challenge for your grey, pink or green matter!"_

Anakin turned off the holoset, sighing. There was nothing on. Nothing at all. Only so-called 'news flashes' about some weird number game.

As if that wasn't enough, he felt strangely left out. Neglected, almost.

He headed through into the dining room. His master was hunched over a datapad, stylus at the ready, concentrating fiercely.

"What are you doing?" Anakin asked, as a sinking feeling hit his stomach. He had a fairly good idea what Obi-Wan of what was doing…

He was right.

"Oh, just playing a SuDooku," Obi-Wan responded absently. "You should try it."

Anakin shook his head, disgusted. It was so like his master to take up anything that might 'challenge his logic', or whatever they'd said on the news.

He headed for the door. "I'm going to wander around the Temple for a while, Master," he called over his shoulder.

"That's fine," murmured Obi-Wan vaguely.

Rolling his eyes, Anakin headed out into the Temple.

* * *

Feeling thoroughly miserable, Anakin headed towards the hangar.

Everywhere he'd gone, there had been Jedi playing SuDooku. In the Mess Hall. In the Gardens. Even in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He snorted. Hell, even the Younglings had been playing it – little miniature versions of it, with four or six numbers.

It was as if the entire Jedi Order, from the Council members to the smallest crèchelings, were addicted to SuDooku.

Once more, the feeling of neglect washed over him. But, when he tried to pinpoint its origin, the thought dissipated, leaving him with only a vague sense of unease.

He entered the Hangar, and was surprised to find it empty. Usually, it was a hub of activity – droids and technicians scurrying around; Jedi leaving for missions; Jedi returning from missions; and, more often than anyone liked, Jedi being rushed back, gravely injured while trying to keep the peace.

'_Everyone's probably playing SuDooku here, too,' _he thought to himself. Gazing around, he spotted a mustard-yellow, open-topped airspeeder. With a furtive glance to reassure himself that no one was around, he jumped in and fired up the engine. Grinning broadly, he rocketed out into the Coruscant traffic. For a second, he wondered what he should do. The answer seemed obvious.

'

* * *

She stood to greet her Jedi guest. Anakin bowed politely. "It's good to see you, Milady."

"It's good to see you, too, Ani," Padme agreed. There was genuine warmth in her voice, and her eyes shone with happiness. It made Anakin feel strange – sort of all tingly inside – so he averted his gaze. He scanned the room, as an excuse. Then, his eyes fell on something that made him despair. He pounced on her datapad, letting out a moan of dismay. "Not you, too, Padme!" he cried.

"What?" Padme stared at him concerned, wondering if he was quite alright.

Anakin brandished the datapad at her threateningly. "Everywhere I go, everyone is playing Count Dooku's stupid game! How could you betray me like this?" Furiously, he threw down the datapad and stormed out of the office, leaving behind a very bewildered Senator.

* * *

Anakin leapt into his speeder, screwing up his eyes. Everyone was betraying him! The Jedi, Obi-Wan, and now Padme!

Squaring his shoulders, Anakin set off with determination, headed towards the only person left in the galaxy who he knew would always stand by him…

* * *

Palpatine glanced up, startled, when he felt Anakin's presence. He was dismayed to realise that he had only realised his dupe's approach as the Chosen One entered his office. However, he shrugged it off; he'd been distracted by Tyranus' lovely present.

Smiling benevolently, he stood. "Anakin, my dear boy!" he began, but was interrupted.

"Everyone! Everyone I ever trusted has betrayed me! I thought you would always stand by me, you and Padme and Obi-Wan, but no, I was wrong. You all betrayed me! All for some stupid game! I'm supposed to be the Chosen One, but nobody cares! I'm not as important to you all as a bunch of _numbers_!"

Tearfully, Anakin fled, rushing out of the Chancellor's office, back to his speeder. He took off, driving aimlessly, hoping that the rushing flow of Coruscant's traffic would wash away his pain.

Back in his office, Palpatine reached for his comlink.

* * *

Several hours later, Anakin returned to his and Obi-Wan's quarters. Calmed by his ride through the airways of Coruscant, he felt thoroughly ashamed of himself. He had screamed at Padme and Palpatine, two of his friends. His only thought was to hide away for a few days, hoping to keep out of their way.

At least Obi-Wan didn't know.

He entered, and was surprised to find Obi-Wan sitting on the sofa, and expectant look on his face. "Sit down, Padawan."

Anakin's heart sank. He knew. Anakin didn't know how, but Obi-Wan _always _knew.

Sighing, he settled on the sofa beside his master, waiting for the inevitable scolding, and hoping it would only be short.

"I received two _very _interesting calls this afternoon, Anakin," Obi-Wan began. Anakin's heart sank further. This was going to be a _long _lecture; he could tell. Then he realised something else. Padme and Palpatine had betrayed him again; they'd told on him, to Obi-Wan. His heart tried to sink, but it was as far down as it could go, so it settled for beating a melancholy rhythm against Anakin's stomach.

But, to Anakin's surprise, Obi-Wan held something out to him. "Here, take this."

It was a datapad. Anakin took it and switched it on. The display screen came up:

_SuDooku_

_For MS Datapad Vista_

_Made by Play Serenno 3_

Anakin stared at it. Count Dooku's evil game.

"Senators Amidala and Palpatine tell me that, apparently, you've been feeling a bit left out lately."

Anakin tore his gaze away from the hated screen, and focused on his master's face. Obi-Wan smiled at him. "Would you like me to teach you how to play?" he asked. "I think you'd like it."

* * *

'_Now, I just need to find out what that square is, and then I can work out if this is a 4 or a 9.'_

Anakin frowned at the datapad in his hands. _'That can't be right. Let's see… Oh, no! There's two fives in that box!'_

"Anakin? Anakin!" Obi-Wan called. "Hurry up! You need to do some lightsaber training!"

Scowling in annoyance, Anakin paused his game.

Thank the Force for Count Dooku! He couldn't understand why some people didn't like SuDooku.

* * *

The End

* * *

Rather random, isn't it? Let me know what you think.

.:\DRS/:.


End file.
